Mar 22, 2007 :: Rural poverty declines

Rural poverty by any measure, appears to have declined, according to the National Sample Survey Organisation [NSSO]. Between 1993 and 2005, the number of people below poverty line declined from 244 million to 170 million. But at the same time, urban poverty has increased.

That begs the question: has poverty only shifted, with people migrating from villages to the cities? “No”, argues Harish Damodaran in this report. If that were so, there should be a fall in the total rural population, which is not the case. India still largely -72%- lives in villages.